10 ways to unbalance the province

Re: Marilla Stephenson’s Jan. 31 column listing her 10 ways to balance the budget. Despite the economic challenges facing the world right now, Nova Scotia is doing reasonably well. Like the federal government and most provinces, Nova Scotia is facing a deficit. However, the NDP has made far more progress than most governments in balancing the budget.

In fact, the Dominion Bond Rating Service just reported that Nova Scotia was one of only three provinces to reduce spending this year and will finish within budget for the fourth consecutive year, if the control on expenditures continues.

Ms. Stephenson suggests cutting 450 jobs and $52 million out of health care. Sure, if you want longer wait times for many services. The NDP has already lowered administrative spending from one of the highest in the country to below the national average through initiatives like cutting up to 19 vice-president positions at DHAs and merging purchasing services among DHAs. The NDP reduced DHA spending growth from an average of seven per cent a year down to 2.5 per cent in 2012-13, saving well over $100 million.

Ms. Stephenson calls an initiative that saves $8.8 million in administrative spending in health “a joke” compared to health’s total budget. Later, she suggests cutting a $26,000 program will help the province balance. Hmm…

Ms. Stephenson says get rid of the government asphalt machine. That small in-house crew has caused a miraculous drop in chip seal costs, from as high as $91,000 per kilometre down to between $40,000 and $45,000 per kilometre. That’s because the province now has options that it didn’t have before — force a fairer price or do the work itself. It’s about introducing competition in areas where there used to be almost none. That alone has saved the province millions.

Ms. Stephenson tells her readers that the number of communications people in government has doubled. She’s right — first under the Liberals and then under the Conservatives. The NDP is the only government to consistently reduce the number of communications staff in more than 25 years.

She claims the government is pretending to hold the line on public salary increases. The NDP negotiated wage increases of one per cent a year for two years. That is the lowest negotiated wage increase since at least the 1970s in the public sector. That alone saves the province $200 million a year, every year, when compared to the wage increases of 2.9 to five per cent per year agreed to by the previous Conservative government.